Bingo Book
by MeltyScream
Summary: She's cold, calculating, cunning. She's attempting to pull of the most dangerous task in recent history. Kidnap Boruto Uzumaki and assassinate Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha is a side bonus. If she does this she'll be immortalized forever, rich beyond her wildest dreams. She will succeed. Her name, Meisiekai Redyui. Semi OC centric.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its properties.**_

 **Chapter 1 - Meisiekai Redyui**

She was never one to miss a target, to let one escape her grasp, to spare a life. That wasn't about to change now, or ever. She stayed true to her word, to capture or kill her target; Whichever were the case. She carefully examined her pouch as she stayed perched silently on a tree branch. Throwing needles, she looked up. Scanning the area she looked back down to continue. Three kunai, she looked up. She had to keep a watchful eye out for her victim.

She finished picking through her btools and decided on a kunai blade. A throwing needle would be the most proficient way, one to a well placed nerve point could disable a man. However she was still learning the technique, and she wanted this done with the uttermost haste. Her ear twitched, almost like a dog. She picked up noise, the snapping of a twig to be exact. She pulled her mask above her mouth and patiently waited.

A man soon walked out into the forest path. His long, dark brown hair spiked up and falling down to his back reminiscent of Madara Uchiha. She had only heard stories of a man so powerful the entirety of the great ninja nation had to unite to defeat him. A war consisting of the Great Allied forces, versus two lone men who's power were so great it warranted such a combined effort. She was sure this man was no Madara Uchiha, very sure. Willing to bet her life on it, for if it was him, he'd have no problem dispatching her. The man kept along his path, not weary of the danger that befell him. The woman held a light grip on her kunai as she dropped from her perch.

She made not a sound when she touched the ground, as if she weighed a feather. She snuck up behind the man, and prepared for the kill. Her ear twitch, another branch snapped not in front, but behind. _Compromised._ "Tu'san! Look out!" She looked over her shoulder to see the compromiser. A pale skinned man with dark red hair, behind him three other men in similar attire. Tattered garbs of bandits. One of their headbands was marked with the symbol of the Mist, with a distinct scratch through it. _Rogue._

The woman turned around just in time to narrowly avoid a straight jab aimed at her by the man now known as Tu'san. She gritted her teeth, she wasn't planning on getting her hands dirty. She traded out her kunai for her katana, whipping it around threateningly. "Just who are ya anyways? Come here trynna pick a fight with lil ol' me huh?" Tu'san demanded, angrily stomping at the ground. "So ya go—"

"Shut up, I don't have time for rambling." The woman spoke. Her tone was quick, cold, and calculating. Bare was it of any emotion, except slight annoyance of the situation. She peeked over her shoulder, wary of the four man on her flank. Only two of them carried a weapon, the red haired one and the one beside him. Both weapons were rusty kunai blades on the verge of shattering.

"Tell me ya name, ya scum!" She bit her lip and eyed him carefully. A slight twitch of her leg and she moved. Tu'san gasped as he felt a cold hand close around his neck. She was fast. "Put him down!" Said the man of red hair. He charged the woman, the other three in tow. She placed a swift knee to Tu'san's groin which knocked the wind from his lungs. She tossed him into the men and they scattered.

A kunai blade whirled at her from the trees. She caught it quite easily, it was poorly thrown. She pocketed it the weapon, it could come in handy layer. One of the men let out a startling battle cry as he leapt towards her. It did nothing to faze her. She swiftly whirled out of his path and countered an off balanced punch from him. She kept her grip on his hand and twisted his wrist the full 360. This time the sound her made was a pitiful cry. Her neck tingled, the red haired guy was closing in from above. With ease the guy she was holding was thrown upwards to counter his partners attack. As soon as her hands were free she weaved hand signals and without word shot a spew of molten fireballs at them. The result was the incineration of the two man. Scraps of burnt clothing, ash, and ember fell from the sky in which they perished. Two dead, three left. She hadn't even used her katana yet. Another kunai struck the ground near her. The user had missed pitifully. She shook her head and turned to take on her challenger.

He had dark black hair and bright blue eyes, he looked barely twenty. "You'll pay for killing my friends, tn!" Ugh he had that annoying habit, making noises at the end of every other sentence. She hated that for some odd reason.

He charged her, his taijutsu was very sloppy. She weaved between each one of his strikes, analyzing the perfect moment to attack. As he pressed forward she was forced to move backwards. He overextended and forced a punch at her jaw, the last mistake he'd ever make. She stuck her foot forward and took away his balance. As he fell helplessly to the ground she jammed her sword into the back of his neck. It made a sort of squishing sound as she removed her blade and flicked the blood from the tip. Safe to say that man was off to catch up with his two friends in the afterlife. The whole crew would be united very soon. A branch snapping once again caught her ear.

"Smart…" She nodded. Tu'san and his companion valued their life greatly. They weren't planning on fighting, they were fleeing. She ascended into the treetops and began to search. Found them, they weren't very smart. Instead of splitting up and bettering each man's chances of survival lest one be caught, they were fleeing together. Too easy.

She descended from the trees, landing on the back of Tu'san's friend. "Fuck!" He shrieked and picked up his pace. "No! Please!" The man under her begged, and it fell on deaf ears. A second later the rusty kunai she had kept was lodged in the man's throat.

She wasted no time and jumped back into the trees. Tu'san was fast, all man were fast when that adrenaline began to pump. However he was still too slow. He nervously looked over head as she eased closer and closer. He screamed out at the realization of his certain death, hoping one would hear his cries. None heard, except himself, the woman, and the birds. A palm hit the back of his head and sent him spiraling into the ground. He didn't even have a second to process what had happened. The last thing he felt was the initial pierce of her sword as it impaled his neck. "Hmph." The woman remarked as she lifted up the guy. She examined his face and dropped him. _Wrong guy._ Hardly she made mistakes like this, very rare. She chuckled, these five souls had perished for no reason at all. Four could have still been living had they not got involved.

She sheathed her sword with a light sigh. Meisiekai, the name in which belonged to her. A bounty hunter. In these days the bingo book was scarce, but what names that did populate it she brought them in one by one, dead or alive. If alive, just barely. Her job was easy, rarely she came across one who could match her. Once she had tried to go after the biggest name in the book. None tried, because all knew of his might. He was a God, she heard them say. She wasn't convinced, she had to find out for herself. She tagged his name with her stamp, Sasuke Uchiha, and tracked him down. He was like no other, a one handed deity.

She put only two scratches on him. Impressive in its on right, few men alive could say they scratched Sasuke Uchiha. The woman combed her silky grey hair back and checked her surroundings. Her eyes were inky black, and her skin was a nice shade of brown. Not too dark, but not caramel. Her attire could be described as a long white top that fell down to her thighs and clung to her hips. The sides were slited, and a creme sash acted as a belt at her waist. Underneath but not visible, black compression shorts.

Meisiekai was rather young herself, the age of twenty-three. She cast a glance at her detached arm sleeves. Black and white camo pattern… And red. Red, blood, the blood of the five men. This warranted another sigh from her. Luckily her leg sleeves of the same design were spared of the bodily fluid. The next village from here was a two mile trek. It was a rather large village though, and she was wanted in the land of lightning, very wanted. She recently tore down a flyer for her arrest, offering 10 million ryo. Money like that could change a poor man's life, if they were strong enough to haul her in. She had figured Sasuke hadn't known of her status, or she'd be in a cell somewhere. Or dead. At the thought of that man she grimaced, she would one day kill him. Wipe him from the planet, when she got strong enough.

Meisiekai stood to her feet and gathered her tools. Next stop, The Land of Hot Water. Her only challenge, getting past the Hidden Cloud. For her, it would be no hard task. She'd also have to pass the Land of Frost, but at least there was a collection office there. She may have missed this target, but she had others to turn in. She may have not had the corpse on her, but she had proof. As she began to walk, she started to ponder on her bout with the Uchiha.

* * *

 _One month prior._

 _Meisiekai silently leapt from tree branch to tree branch, stalking her target; Sasuke Uchiha. She stopped when he stopped. She watched quietly as Sasuke began to set up a camp and fire. If he was truly as strong as she heard, one mistake could be her end. She didn't believe though, Sasuke Uchiha was pretty much folklore where she came from. Grizzled war veterans told stories of him and his supposed friend, "Blondie" they called him. How him and Blondie brought the entire ninja world to peace. She heard legends of how Sasuke took on the five great Kage and lived. Some would argue he held his own. Meisiekai would have to be made into a believer. Breaking away from her thoughts, she looked down. Sasuke was laying next to the fire, possibly sleep. She admitted it took guts to sleep out in the open, even in times of peace._

 _That would be his last mistake. She equipped a kunai and steadied her aim. With deadly precision and even deadlier force she threw the kunai straight for his head. Bingo. It hit its mark, burying itself in his head. That was the end of the great Sasuke Uchiha._

 _Poof!_

 _Or so she thought. In his place was a log. Great, just great. "Looking for me?" A voice asked from behind her. Meisiekai immediately jumped from her perching position and rolled to a crouch. There she saw him. Sasuke Uchiha, walking up to her and stopping a fair distance away. His eyes cut to the log briefly and her's followed. They both met each other's gaze again and he took a good look over her as she rose to a stand. "Who are you?" He asked, his tone just as cold as hers would be._

 _Meisiekai didn't answer, instead she reached for her katana. Sasuke did the same, keeping his eyes fixated on her. Meisiekai caught on glimpse of his Sharingan and looked away. She trembled softly, for all she knew that one glimpse could be the end right there. She studied all about the Dojutsu, and knew well what it was capable of. "I'll ask again," Sasuke started, snapping to get her attention, "Who are you?"_

 _Meisiekai dashed forward, whirling a kunai out of her pocket with her free hand and throwing it at Sasuke. He deflected it with his sword, before dashing towards her. His sheer speed caught Meisiekai off guard and forced a retreat, but she was already in his grasp. He grabbed her arm with an iron grip and stared into her eyes. Meisiekai did not return eye contact, looking at the ground as she plotted her next move. She kicked at his foot, tossing him off balance. She slipped away from his hold, grabbing a handful of shuriken from her waist pouch and hurling them at the Uchiha man. Sasuke blocked each one, the clang of metal ringing through the air at each deflection. Meisiekai quickly weaved some hand seals and opened her mouth as she retreated. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullets!" She exclaimed. Longs bullets of fire about the length of a substitution log flared from her mouth and towards Sasuke. The far more experienced ninja gracefully evaded each one as he channeled lightning throughout his sword. He locked on to Meisiekai and dashed in towards her._

 _He thrusted his sword forth, electricity hissing and singeing Meisiekai's arm. She backed away once more but Sasuke easily closed the gap. He swung his blade downwards and caught part of her shoulder, warm red liquid sliding down her shoulder. Meisiekai let out a low feral growl, she wouldn't go down so easily. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" The surrounding area began to glow orange as Meisiekai found herself staring down the path of two very large fireballs._

 _She smirked, she could do it as well. She formed the hand seals as she jumped back, "Fire Relea—" she was cut short by a bolt of lightning flashing just across her face. She dug her and in her pocket and pulled out her last kunai. Whirling in the air she descended towards Sasuke, narrowly avoiding the fireballs. Her arm had first degree burns on them, nothing she couldn't withstand. She charged Sasuke, throwing her kunai at his feet and running in with her katana ready to strike. Sasuke jumped up, and Meisiekai met him. She grazed his cheek with her sword and managed to catch his leg, pulling him down. "Checkmate." She mused and aimed a punch at his chest. Sasuke twisted and kicked her arm. He connected with a heel directly to her jaw that freed him from her grip, before aiming a roundhouse at her head._

 _His second attack sent Meisiekai flying in a spiral into the dirt. She rebounded just in time to narrowly dodge a beam of lighting. Again he shot another lightning beam from his sword, with Meisiekai staying out of its path. "Troublesome." Sasuke muttered. She proved to be quite the slippery woman. He knew of one thing she couldn't escape. "Amar—" His words were cut off as he found himself against an onslaught of fiery bullets. He shielded his face as her attacks tattered his clothes and singed parts of his skin. This time, Meisiekai had him on the ropes. She threw a blow only to have it caught and redirected. It forced her to spin on a heel and throw another punch aimed at his chest. Sasuke shifted out of harms way. He ducked low, sending a hard kick at her shin that put her down on one knee. Meisiekai wasn't done though. As Sasuke reached in to grab her she lunged for his neck at a faster speed. Still the man dodged, yet she had anticipated this. As he moved his head to the left it brushed against the tip of a kunai blade._

 _The blade cut deep in his cheek and forced him back. Meisiekai rose to her feet, trying hard to regain her breath. She knew without a doubt Sasuke was hardly trying. The little damage he did receive was because he allowed it to happen. Even the events that had just transpired. Had he not been so quick to grab her, he would have avoided that cut. The cut stung slightly, nothing but a small annoyance to him. "Fire Release: Infernal Storm!" Meisiekai shouted. From her mouth she spat a wave like current of flames, setting the forest ablaze. Sasuke made a mental acknowledgement. Never before had he seen this jutsu, but he wouldn't die to it._

 _Meisiekai found it best to escape now, lest she wanted to die. This man was to overpowering to overcome in an all out fight. She cut her losses and fled. She looked back to see Sasuke standing there among the burning trees and falling branches, watching her. That was the last she had saw on the man named Sasuke._

* * *

Bolt smiled happily to himself, preparing himself to go outside. It was a rare day, he had the day off. Konohamaru was sick with the flu. He insisted on continuing their lessons at first, but Naruto himself sent him home. His father didn't want a flu spreading and running wild in the village, that would be a huge headache. A month has passed since their battle with two members of the Otsutsuki Clan. The Chunin exams restarted, without Bolt much to his great anger. The winners ending up being Shikadai and Shinki of the Sand. Both were promptly promoted to Chunin of their respective villages. He sighed and emerged himself in thoughts, thinking back to the battle a month ago.

"Hello Bolt!" The familiar voice of his friend snapped him out of thoughts. Sarada approached him, Mitsuki nowhere in sight. "Yo Sarada." He smiled at her and lazily looked around, "Where's Mitsuki?"

"He went off to help around the village, that kind of stuff." Sarada answered and her blonde friend gave a half nod. He didn't understand wanting to work on a free day, Mitsuki was a strange kid. "How's your sister?" Sarada asked, trying to make small talk as they both began to walk. Bolt shook his head as his eyes danced around the village. "She's fine, as clingy as ever." Sarada couldn't help but giggle. She envied Bolt for having such a cute sister. She longed for a sibling of her own, but that seemed as likely as cats giving birth to dogs.

"How's your mom?" Bolt asked in return, and they began their usual conversation.

Looking over them perched atop a building was Sasuke. He watched them with small interest for maybe a minute or two, then continuing on his path. In less than five minutes he was knocking at the door of the Hokage's office.

"Come in." He heard Naruto say. Sasuke waited a few seconds and burst through the door. He appeared before Naruto standing on the man's desk, careful not to knock his paperwork over. The edge of his sword was pointed at Naruto's forehead. "You gotta be on guard always Naruto, even if its me." He scolded. He caught the grin on Naruto's face and smirked himself, waiting for the blonde to correct him.

That he did, "I am on guard." Naruto motioned behind him and Sasuke turned. In the corner of the room were two shadow clones, one holding a charged Rasengan. They both made teasing expressions before disappearing in a poof of smoke. Sasuke sheathed his blade and dropped down from the desk. "So what brings you by? Is it time for your reports already?" Naruto asked, tiredly burying his cheek in his palm while he waited for an answer.

"Kaguya's dimension has been untouched so far, no trouble on that front. There's been some small conflict in the Land of Frost, nothing deadly. I spotted Orochimaru near the Land of Sound. I don't know what him and Suigetsu are doing there but you should keep an eye out. There's also been an alarming number of bounty hunters as of late. You should see this." Sasuke pulled a bingo book from his pocket. He tossed the book to his friend.

Naruto caught it and began to flip through it. He didn't see any familiar names, until towards the end. "Bee? Who would add Bee's name to this thing?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he continued. He came across other notable names; Orochimaru and Suigetsu, Jugo, even Karin. He got to the last page of it and looked up, then down to read the name, "Sasuke Uchiha… I thought Bingo Books were discontinued now that we're in peace? Even so, what village would put you in their wanted list?" He inquired curiously, as he was sure Sasuke hadn't done anything to warrant it. Had he?

"Precisely, these are not Village produced." Sasuke spoke, "I've found out that their a different kind of bingo book, the hunters book so to speak. Some time ago a group of mercenaries got together and began to compile hits and murder warrants into a book. They mass produced that book, giving them out to various hunters, rogues, and mercenaries." Naruto sighed over Sasuke's words. "That book is one I managed to take from a guy who tried to kill me. They're paying good money for the heavier people, I'm listed for a payout of thirty-five million ryo. There was a woman who attacked me not too long ago." He motioned Naruto to look at the small scar she had placed on his cheek.

"They know who you are, yet they don't fear going to battle with you if they think they can win. Once again, it's starting to get dangerous out there. Sasuke, are you sure you're okay wandering around?" A voice of concern for his friend tinged Naruto's tone. Sasuke chuckled, nodding. "Very well, when do you plan on departing again?"

The Uchiha gave it some thought, deciding upon an answer. "I'll leave again at midnight. I'll pay a visit unto Sakura and my daughter. If they find out I came through without visiting they'll be upset, and no doubt you'll tell them." Sasuke watched as Naruto turned around to look out the window behind him. "I'll be going now, until next time." Sasuke through his hand up and turned to leave. "Take care, Sasuke." Naruto called, still watching over his village.

Sasuke descended the staircase and exited the building. Now he'd visit the hospital, as he knew Sakura would be there at these hours.

* * *

Two weeks had passed, Meisiekai expertly avoided the grasps of the Hidden Cloud. Now she stepped foot in a new land. True to its name, the Land of Frost was barren and cold. During the Fourth Shinobi War, most of the residents of the Land of Frost were relocated to Konoha out of fear that their land would become a battleground in the war.

Only about a fourth of those people returned, the rest stayed in the Land of Fire. The Village Hidden in the Frost had now become a mercenary town. Crooks, rogues, and criminals of all kinds gathered there for shelter. It was also where the collection office now resided, and a bounty hunter outpost nearby. She was sure she had put all other hunters out of business by now so she wasn't expecting to meet to many folk there.

That was still far to go. She heard rumors of a small village nearby home to Land of Frost natives. Those who had been ran from their home village by mercs. She had also heard they were planning a revolt to take their town back.

 _Interesting._ Meisiekai thought to herself. Conditions were brewing rather fast, she knew she should make her way to the Land of Hot Water before things got violent. If she didn't, oh well. The woman enjoyed a good bloodbath.

* * *

 **A/N: So this was more of a short introduction chapter to get everything going, get my character introduced. I'll try to flesh out her character more and more these first five chapters. This is my first fanfic in quite a bit. It won't be entirely OC centric down the line, but the introducing arc will be mainly focused on Meisiekai. Don't worry I'll try to make her as likable as possible.**

 **I was tempted to go the route of making another Next Generation centric fanfic, but I wanted to try something new. Anyways I should have a new chapter out hopefully Friday, that's the mark I'm setting. First five chapters will average maybe 4k to 6k words, and once that's over we'll get into the thick pf the plot. Anyways thanks for stopping by, leave a review maybe, and I'll see you guys Friday**

 **~24tee**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Land of Frost**

Wrapped in a scrap of cloth she had stolen from a man she encountered, Meisiekai pressed on through the bitter snowstorm. True to its name, the Land of Frost was harsh with cold weather. Its calmest times consisted of near constant snowfall, and its harshest weather were fatal blizzards lasting months at a time. Thankfully today's conditions were sort of a middle ground. Still she'd need to locate that village fast, in case things did decide to turn rather deadly.

The place in question, Inakaze Village. A small place she had heard about, where former dwellers of the Village Hidden in the Frost had come to reside after finding out their village was now a criminal hotspot. She wasn't sure she'd even be allowed entrance. The Frost people were always very wary of outsiders. That was only heightened by the conditions they found themselves in now.

A strong gust of cold air blew the woman onto her butt. She mumbled a dozen profanities as she rose to her feet. The winter coat she had managed to steal, which was already in scraps, would not do her justice any longer. Her core temperature was beginning to drop. She could feel it, her natural warmth slowly fading. It didn't help that she was walking in the exact opposite direction the wind was blowing. She heard people thought the Land of Iron was unbearable, it was nothing compared to this.

Over the horizon her eyes locked on to two ghastly figures amidst the snowfall. They were standing a fair distance apart, and seemed to be informed of one another presence. They had to be guarding or watching something, but what?

 _Inakaze Village._

That was Meisiekai's gut feeling. They were standing guard, making sure no mercenaries broke in and terrorized their small population. At least, that's what she had surmised. Why else would two men be standing out in the middle of an angry blizzard. The closer she got to them, the farther they appeared. Great, the snow was playing tricks on her. On top of that, she was walking into the start of a dense fog.

Things were beginning to stack themselves on top of the last. Not only was there fog and intense cold winds, but now snow had begun to make the transition from snow to hail. The balls of ice thumped against Meisiekai's clothes. They hardly inflicted any pain, but were extremely annoying. This was quickly becoming Meisiekai vs the Land of Frost, or rather, herself vs Mother Nature. Gritting her teeth, Meisiekai pressed on.

After what seemed like forever, but was actually one about twenty minutes, Meisiekai approached the two men. Even through the snow she could see the wary look in their eyes. Such was no easy feat given that the sky was almost completely white, like a blank screen. Apparently their eyesight was just as good, as they both raised spear like weapons as they she neared them. Meisiekai carefully picked a kunai from her belt.

"Halt! Who are you!?" One of the men boomed, his voice commanding fear and respect. Well maybe to any other person. Meisiekai chuckled and answered, "I was simply passing through this land, and was caught in the storm. I was looking for a place to stay overnight."

"That is your problem! We're not taking visitors." The same man responded, raising his spear threateningly. This gave Meisiekai another laugh. It was such a primitive action, along with a primitive weapon. They were like wild tribesman from some bygone time. She considered knocking them out and entering, and decided against it. She try diplomacy one more time. If it didn't work, the men brought whatever happened next on themselves.

She walked forward, prompting the men to jump around with their spears pointed at her. "We're warning you! Turn away, or go around!" The other guard spoke. His voice was a nervous and frantic one, must have been an inexperienced one. If this did come to blows, Meisiekai would have no problem dispatching him. She raised her hands, letting the kunai drop to the ground. "I just need to stay one night…. I have money…"

The two men said nothing, instead their actions made it seem like they were going to attack.

"I can help with the mercenary problem." Meisiekai bargained. She knew that would do it.

The two men looked to each other, obviously discussing something. It took ten long, very cold minutes for them to come to terms. Meisiekai almost decided to use force in that time span. The seemingly older one cleared his throat, "We've decided to let you stay one night. IF, you commit to helping us raid our former village next morning. We're planning to attack them soon, and they seem to have an surplus of weapons over there. Our scout found a guy selling ninja tools. Do you agree?"

Such a small task would be easy for the woman. All they asked for was simply her to accompany them into the Hidden Frost to still a few weapons. "I don't even need your help, you'll only be a nuisance. I'll see to your demands on my own." The man visibly shook his head, much to her annoyance. "What's the problem?"

"We can't let you go alone, we don't know if you'll run off with the weapons, or if you'll even go at all." That made sense, even Meisiekai had to admit. They made an arguable point. A cold breeze of wind passing by decided for her. "I agree to your terms, understood." She said, walking up to the pair of men. She held her hand out, the guard taking a look at it and grunting. "Follow me." He turned quickly, motioning for his partner to follow and leading the way.

 _This had better at least be fun._ The woman thought. They came up on the village up ahead, the blizzard seeming to be lighter in this area. That, because it was actually able for the normal person to see where they were going. It was far from any less colder though. "Where will I be staying tonight?" She questioned, receiving no answer. Meisiekai cleared her throat, "I ask again and I expect an answer. Where will I be staying for tonight?" The older man raised a hand, and motioned towards an old shack to his left. Meisiekai snorted.

"That's the best you can give me? A barely standing cabin, pitiful." She sighed wearily. "Whatever." Meisiekai dismissed it. She was not in the mood to argue this, one wrong word from them and she'd snap. She was offended that this was the best they'd offer her, though they didn't know of her status. If they did, she wouldn't have been allowed into this place at all.

Grumbling angrily, she made her way to the shack. She'd only have to endure one night of this run down place. "Now where is the door…?" She looked around for the entrance, nothing. Instead what she found was an empty frame where the door was previously at. "You've got to be fucking with me." Meisiekai rubbed her face wearily. If she had knew Earth Release this would have been fine, as she have patched that up with a rock wall. Still once she made her way inside, she found it quite warm, even without a door.

She found a couch in the middle of the room and laid. She just hoped the place wouldn't fall on her overnight. That wouldn't be very fun now would it.

* * *

"Hey, wake up. We're leaving." Someone shook Meisiekai, bad idea. The woman emerged from her sleep, grabbing their arm. Upon reflex she threw them onto the floor and rested her heel on their head. "Hey! Release him at once!" She heard the guard from yesterday say, the older one. She looked around to see a few men fearfully pointing spears at her. "Why are you waking me?" She demanded angrily as she released her hold on the man.

"What is your name?" The guard demanded of her. Meisiekai looked up at him and rolled her eyes. She never understood the human desire to know the name of a person. Personally, she didn't care who you were. There were few names she needed to remember, those of which she'd be taking out. "Well, are you deaf? What is yo— "

"Shut up, don't you talk to me like that again pal. I don't have to help you out, and none of you could stop me if I chose not to." The woman grew ill of his tone towards her. He clearly didn't think much of her. "Now as for my name, don't forget it. It's Jinkai." Her name was recognizable all over the Land of Lightning. As the Land of Frost was a neighboring country, undoubtedly she was known here as well. Didn't need them knowing that.

The older guard nodded, clearly he wasn't to keen on her mini speech but he decided to ignore it. "My name is Madara." Meisiekai raised an eyebrow. Why would such talentless scum like him be named after the great Madara. She hadn't seen his battle skill, but surmised it to not be very impressive. "My second in command here," He motioned to the younger man, "Is Ootoi." The young man held out his hand for Meisiekai to shake.

"Hmph, when I tried to shake your hand yesterday you turned me down? Why the change of heart?" Meisiekai mused. Ootoi sunk back, sighing softly. Meisiekai stifled a laugh at his actions, looking back up to Madara. She had to admit, being close up on him he was quite tall and rather muscular built. Even she had been around enough to know that these were the guys who looked well in shape, yet always died first.

"Okay men… and woman," Meisiekai smirked at his recognition of her, "We have to get going now, while the blizzard is at a calm. No telling when it'll strike again but we have to go now. Me, Ciel, Kin'Ju, and Jinkai will all take the eastern path. The rest of you will go with Ootoi down the western road. We should all meet right at the converging river. My team will cross the river and provide an distraction for Ootoi's team. His team will sneak over the wall amidst the commotion and steal as many weapons as possible. After that we'll be on our way back, understood?"

His voice boomed, bouncing off the walls of the small cabin. "Sā!" Each man saluted. Meisiekai recognized the word as the Japanese way of saying Sir, interesting. They huddled out of the shack, Meisiekai following behind the pack. The morning sky was still dark, a tinge of orange in the west. She noticed Madara seemed to forget mentioning to them how long the walk would be.

She noticed them dispersing into the trees, and let out a pleased sigh. She was worried that the men wouldn't be capable of that kind of travel. She made a mental note that they were actually low class ninja, rather than a ragtag village guard force. Stretching her arms and legs, she leapt into the treetops and followed as well.

She caught up with her team, lagging behind. She did so to avoid any small talk any of the members would try and make. The woman found it pleasing to avoid all forms of dialogue with any of them. Like it was planned, they were coming up on a large, lake like river. It was frozen over maybe completely solid. She descended towards the ground along with the others, skidding to a stop along the ice which took way longer than she initially planned.

Madara clamped down on the ice upon landing, thanks to the special made shoes he wore. Ootoi's team was right behind them, all landing on the ice in similar fashion. In the distance she saw what appeared to be a great walled fortress. Well it was that, the Hidden Frost Village. "Over that wall is our former village. Soon we will reclaim what is ours, and it all starts with today. Ootoi move your team out, as will I do the same with my team."

Ootoi nodded dutifully. "Let's go." He ordered, and his team started in a dash towards the village walls.

"We will orchestrate a distraction at the main gate, start a fight with the mercs. We'll have to hold off as long as possible, all of you understand we'll be overwhelmed and could possibly die." Meisiekai snorted inwardly. Overwhelmed with her on their side, that was far from likely. Madara motioned for them to follow him, and they all fell in line. He marched them across the frozen lake, the occasional slip up from Meisiekai every now and then giving his men a laugh.

She had the urge to kill every man who laughed. She wasn't equipped with special made ice boots like them. Once they stepped back onto actual land, Madara looked back at her. "You, how capable a fighter are you?" He questioned. "Don't worry about me, I'll take care of myself." It seemed to be a good enough answer for him, albeit a bit cocky.

"I don't know Madara, this isn't the place for fem—" Ciel was cut off by a fatal wound to the neck. A kunai was the cause of death, not by Meisiekai. It came from the tree's near the village gate. "What!? How did they know!?" Madara shouted angrily, the vibrations of his voice sending piles of snow down from the treetops.

Kin'Ju chuckled at the scene. "What's funny, of all the times to laugh why now." Madara focused his attention on his subordinate. Meisiekai kept her focus trained on the laughing man. Something was off about him, she didn't think it was normal to laugh at your comrade's death, unless he harbored quite the grudge against him.

"Wanna know how they knew?" Kin'Ju said, a malicious intent present in his tone. At that statement Meisiekai realized what was happening. This man had played Madara and his team, probably sold them out for a quick buck from the criminals. Kin'Ju made a hand seal and released what was a transformation jutsu. He now appeared as a woman, a rather unattractive one at that. "What is… what is this?" Madara demanded. "You bastard!" He launched forward, aiming for her throat.

Kin'Ju or whatever her real name was, smirked and jumped to the side. Madara mashed his foot into the ground and pivoted. "Die!" He ran his fist clean across her face, and brought his elbow down in a jackhammer drilling her head into the snow. Immediately upon impact the surrounding snow around her face began to turn red. He had killed her, quite quickly, Meisiekai noted.

She let out a low whistle. She'd gladly admit she was wrong about him, that level of rage and killer intent he had just displayed earned him a small portion of her respect. Madara turned to the mercenaries and criminals among the treetops. "All of you, I'll kill you all!" He roared. "Ohh yeah, we'd love to see you try." One of the criminals taunted. They leapt down from the trees, a party of about three dozen men.

Madara charged at them and Meisiekai followed, katana in hand."Die scum!" A woman let out a battle cry as she rushed Mesiekai. Meisiekai blocked a strong kick from her, countering with a well time swipe at the woman's face. Meisieikai dodged another attack, grabbing the woman's hand. She lept over the lady with her arm still tightly gripped. This effectively snapped the woman's shoulder upon Meisiekai's landing.

"You bitch!" A strong blow rattled Meisiekai's jaw, forcing her onto the ground. A blue haired merc lashed out with a chakra blade. Meisiekai rolled out of his path, kicking at his foot which sent him into a stumble. From her prone position she repeatedly kicked his knee which knocked him off his feet. She jumped up, pouncing on him and igniting her hand in a blaze of chakra. She punctured the man's chest, leaving a gory hole. Grabbing his corpse, she stood. Three other men were approaching her from different angles. Meisiekai threw the corpse at the one in front of her, hands becoming a blur as she formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Burning Chakra Orbs." She said. Out of her mouth came lumps of chakra, manifested into a lumpy ball form. All three man stopped, garnering a grin from the woman.

She jumped up into the treetops and made a hand seal. On cue, the balls of chakra each exploded into large bursts of blistering heat and fire. "What is this!?" One of the man cried out. It didn't take long for them to become piles of ashes on the ground. Meisiekai looked at their remains with hidden awe. It was the first time she had used that jutsu. She could thank coming across a hidden cave of scrolls in the Land of Lightning. Sadly for her she only had time to nab that one before the entire place had collasped.

She caught the sound of steel piercing flesh, turning to to the source. There stood Madara, the area around him coated in blood. The metallic pang of the liquid began to fill the air. However he was not the victor. He was surrounded by several men, standing atop the dead bodies of their allies. Madara had just been slain, a long broad sword sticking out of his back. "Forgive me…" He uttered his last words, and fell over.

"Hmph." Meisiekai gave him credit, for a lone man he took out quite a bit. Of the thirty-ish men there were only seven left. She had only killed four, so the other casualties were claimed by a lone man armed with nothing but his fists. It only increased her respect for him, and she'd honor his death by taking care of the last several men.

She was out of kunai, so instead she took a few long throwing needles from her belt. She aimed them at a few men's necks. She figured she had studied enough of the human anatomy to know the neck's nerve points. One by one she tossed them, dropping three men to the ground in paralysis. She descended to take down the other five, and execute the three disabled ones. "There she is, ge—" He never had time to finish.

Meisiekai punctured his neck with her katana, and dumped his limp body from her blade. A loud cry of battle from behind alerted her of an attacker. They were so stupid, had he not had to shout he maybe would have harmed her. She whipped around and crouched to avoid his strike. The man wildly swung at her. A second man joined the fray, sending a swift palm at her back. Meiseikai took the palm with ease, being able to tolerate high levels of pain. That palm was nothing compared to the things she could tank.

She spun and grabbed his hand twisting it until he began to scream in pain. The other guy let out another battle cry, bringing his hands down ontop of her head. At the last second she moved out of the way, substituting her head for the second guy's head. With the way she had his arm gripped, and they way his ally's fists hit this hand, the colliding tensions forced his arm to snap as it hit the ground.

He let out a bloodcurdling cry as he rolled around in indescribable pain. "Moturu, you ok—" Yet another interrupted sentence courtesy of Meisiekai. Sbe headbutted the man which send him crashing onto the ground. In a blur she was upon him, thrusting her katana through his chest. She pulled it out, the sound it made giving her delight. She turned her attention to the man's whose arm was broken. He met the same death that his partner had just received.

There should have been two more, undoubtedly they had fled. The three whom nerve points she had disabled lay still in fear. Meisiekai grabbed a few kunai blades from the man who she'd just killed. With precision unheard of in this area each kunai found it's way lodged in their throats.

With that done, she took a look at the scene before her. Blood was everywhere. In the ground, coating the snow, splattered on the trees and leaves, and on her clothes… again. She sighed, _not again._ No doubt Ootoi's team had all been killed if the mercenaries were informed on this mission beforehand. No use in going to check on them. She decided to exclude the Hidden Frost on her travel checklist. If two men had fled most likely they returned to the village to retell the story of what happened. She knew she couldn't take on a whole village of mercenaries and crooks, at least not yet. Thankfully the storm had passed by now.

Next was the Land of Hot Water. She figured she could get her bingo book updated there. It was home to a well known bounty hunter, so feared in the land none even attempted to capture him. She knew not of his name, but of his status. Most importantly, she knew of his location. Meisiekai smirked, sheathing her blade. A week of travel would get her there, hopefully Mother Nature would cooperate. Meisiekai rubbed her head, beginning to walk.

 **Here we are, as promised chapter 2 is here. Would have been here early today but I got sidetracked. This chapter briefly explored the brewing conflict in the Land of Frost. This will be a key event later in the story so this won't be the last we see of this country. Next chapter things will begin to pick up, and that will jump-start the main plot. Which is what these first five chapters serve to do, setting up the plot while doing a bit of world building. Meisiekai's going to be doing a lot of traveling in this story, so we'll see a lot of lands and places never really expanded upon in the series.**

 **Anyways that's all I have for now. Expect Chapter 3 Tuesday or maybe late Monday. I'm thinking my upload schedule will be Tuesdays and Fridays before the chapters start to get longer, then it'll probably drop into once a week. So I'll see you guys then, until next time!**

 **~24tee**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Land of Hot Water**

The Land of Hot water, neighboring country to the Land of Fire. As Meisiekai was now seeing though, it was in a worse state than the Land of Frost. During the war most of the heaviest fighting was done here, completely destroying the landscape. Where there was once lush forests and bright green grasslands, there was now barren wastelands with few trees scattered about. Deep slumps and depressions were in the land from all of the fierce battles that rocked the place.

From what she could initially tell, there was no sign of population here. She had only seen two or three people in her thirty minutes in the land so far. They seemed to be passing through as well. Which was strange, she had heard of the bounty hunter who lived here. If it was true she could understand why no one in the land tried to catch him; because there was no one to try and subdue him. It was actually pretty smart to set up shop in a barren country like this.

A choking wind of hot air blew past her, causingpaer to cough violently. "What the fuck…" She muttered at the sudden heat. This land was such a stark contrast to the Land of Frost. She could only imagine how the Fire country would be.

As she walked, off in the distance something really caught her eye. "What…?" She trailed off. What she saw was a shimmering tower seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It had the look of an old Japanese temple, but was about eight stories tall from her estimate. That was the last thing she was expecting. Why would someone build something like that out here. Then it just vanished, right from her sight. Meisiekai clenched the hilt of her katana. Something wasn't right, someone was messing with her.

She pressed her hands together and formed a seal to try and dispel any genjutsu she might have somehow gotten trapped in. Unsuccessful, which meant she was either not in one or it was too strong. She chose to believe the former scenario was the case, as the woman believed there wasn't a genjutsu she couldn't expell except the ones of the Sharingan. She glanced back to see if any one was behind her. Once she turned back, the tower was there again. Out of confusion she rubbed her eyes multiple times, and it was gone.

"Intriguing." Meisiekai mused at it. If it were anything else she'd dismiss it as a simple parlor trick, but something as big as that shouldn't be appearing and disappearing seemingly at will. The woman increased her guard, and swiftly began to dash towards the tower. Her curiosity was to much for her to simply just walk there. She wanted to know what this was now. The tower began to appear closer. In flickered in and out of sight a good few times, but she had a good enough placing on its location not to lose track of it.

She lept over a tree and neared it. Just then, something pulled her back. She grunted as she was thrown backwards onto the ground. "Who's there!" The woman demanded as she neared her feet. No one there, they wouldn't have anywhere to hide if they were either. "Just what in the hell is going on here?" She heard a loud crack and immediately looked up. What she saw was the tower, but it was falling. Even more surprising, was that she was in its path. She was sure she hadn't made it that close before she was pulled down.

She leapt out of the way. To her surprise there was no impact. Instead, now nothing was there. No trace of the tower or anything. When her eyes forced her to blink, she looked up and saw the tower off at a small distance away. Now she definitely knew, something was up. Was this the tricks of that bounty hunter, if so what kind of jutsu was this? She was sure it wasn't genjutsu. Some special type of ninjutsu perhaps? She glared at the building, in all of her years on the planet she never have thought that she'd be getting outsmarted by a mere piece of construction.

Meisiekai figured approaching it head on was out of the question, as whatever had pulled her back would most likely do so again if she got close enough. She gave the tower another look. This time what she saw was something that literally came out of left field. The sky was filled with arrows, coming from the building. They were all about to rain down on her. Not on her watch. "Fire Release!" She said as she formed the hand seals, "Great Fire Jutsu!" Her mouth ignited in a blaze of fiery chakra, and she spat out a wave of flames at the incoming arrows.

The arrows disintegrated in the air, to which Meisiekai grunted in satisfaction. "Good." She turned her head to see a man walking into view, clapping slowly. He wore a smirk on his face which slightly pissed the woman off. Noticing his attire, which was a light blue suit, the one you'd wear to a wedding, she knew something was up. The man ruffled his light brown hair back and pointed to the tower. "You want to go there huh?" He asked in a polite tone.

"Who are you?" Meisiekai asked, dismissing his question. While she did want to see what was going on in that building, figuring out who this guy was, was far more important to her. "Okay! Follow me." The man spoke over her, completely ignoring her question. This got an eyebrow raise from the woman. She plucked a kunai from her pouch and carefully neared him. The man smiled and turned to walk. As he did so, he simply vanished. Meisiekai stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes.

"Well come on, I can't keep the jutsu up forever!" His carefree voice rung around. From the spot where he had disappeared, there was a hand, his hand which was motioning for her to follow. The woman didn't know how to handle this. She wasn't even sure what kind of jutsu this was or how it worked. For all she knew it could kill her if she followed. Against her better judgment, she nodded. Meisiekai walked up to the spot and immediately everything went black.

"Ah, there you are. Master was surprised that you were able to counter my little tricks. Even if they weren't much." The man spoke as he appeared before her in the black space, smiling.

"Just who in the hell are you, and who is this master of yours?" Meisiekai demanded as she took a look at her surroundings. The man's smile brightened. Meisiekai muttered some profanities and he cleared his throat. "I heard that," He giggled, almost girl like and continued, "My name is Jiroshi. I'll let my master introduce himself to you. Don't worry we're almost there. Your name is Meisiekai am I correct?" Meisiekai lunged out at him. She changed her path and darted behind him. The woman wrapped her arm around his chest and held a kunai to his neck. "How did you know that!?"

"Now, now, play nice." Meisiekai gasped at the realization that he was no longer in her grip. She felt a tap on her shoulder and darted forward, sliding around to face him. Jiroshi gave her a cheeky smile, waving at her. "Do not worry about that, I mean you no harm. Even if you have an ill wish against me."

"Suck it!" Meisiekai spat. She threw her kunai at him, charging in behind it. Jiroshi smiled softly. He held his hand up and all momentum the kunai had was lost. It simply fell to the ground mid path. "What in the…" She trailed off. It didn't deter her, and she lunged forward with a punch aimed at his chin. Jiroshi moved to the side. He pinched her arm, and the entire limb went numb. Meisiekai hit the ground and rolled over to her back. Jiroshi loomed over her threateningly, seemingly about to deliver a death blow. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact.

"Ohh goody! We're here!" She opened her eyes at his expression. As soon as she did so, her sight was engulfed in a blinding white light.

* * *

Meisiekai opened her eyes after keeping them clenched shut to find herself in some sort of room. It was decorated with all sorts of traditional Japanese items. This room itself could easily be worth over two million ryo.

"Ohh goody! You're awoke." Meisiekai jumped at the man's voice, which came from behind her. She quickly turned around, noticing that she could feel her arm again. There was still slight numbness but it wasn't much. She stood up and eyed the man angrily. "Where am i? Where is this master of yours?"

Jiroshi held up a bingo book, hers to be exact. Meisiekai patted down her pockets and glared at the man. "You came here to get this updated correct? Follow me." He clenched her book in his hands and it ignited in flames. Meisiekai inwardly seethed, but kept it inside. From her first impressions, this man was strong as hell. He said he was going to get her updated anyways so she figured that's why he discarded of her book. Didn't make her any less angry knowing that.

She followed him out of the room into a long, bright corridor. Judging by how well designed the place looked she could tell they were in the tower. The walls were painted a nice white color, with a red lining. They were gold dragon statues atop small pillars, hell it was a struggle not to run into some fancy ornament. Jiroshi made a sharp turn left, almost losing Meisiekai. She quickly scurried behind him, careful not to get lost. If there was more guys like Jiroshi here who didn't know of her presence and thought she was an intruder, it wouldn't be pleasant for either party. She'd be damned if she went out without a fight.

"Ah, here we are." Jiroshi led her into a small room full of books. "To explain how I knew you, I took a look over these books like always. It's fun to read over who's added in each new addition." He picked one up and flipped through the pages before nodding. "Ah, here it is." She turned the book to show her.

There was a picture of Meisiekai, how they got it she didn't know. Along with it, a description of her, known talents, homeland, and other details. "Wanted dead or alive, price one million ryo." The woman couldn't help but laugh. She had an idea of who set out a bounty for her. It made her laugh, wasn't the first time a bounty hunter had a bounty on their head. It would make visiting collections offices a lot more awkward though.

"Keep the book, it's updated." Jiroshi smiled. Meisiekai nodded, continuing to flip the pages. There were a few new faces, and she noted that Sasuke Uchiha's price had been raised. Possibly to encourage more people to go after him. They were no fools though, most knew that man would dismantle them. Good, because she was planning to claim that bounty herself. No one else but her would be stupid enough to even try. If you got into a serious fight with that man and lived, you'd be stupid to challenge him again. She was stupid.

Then one name caught her eye. It replaced Sasuke as the last page in the book. As she read on, she found it not to be just one name, but two. "Wanted dead or alive, Naruto Uzumaki. Payout, fifty million ryo. Wanted alive, Bolt Uzumaki. Bring to the collection station in the Land of Iron. Payout, twelve million ryo." She read aloud. Jiroshi giggled. "Ohh my, you don't actually plan on trying that do you? You can't even beat me."

"Shut up fucker, I'm thinking." Meisiekai replied calmly. In reply all she got was silence, good. _Now then, undoubtedly Naruto Uzumaki is on the same level if not stronger that Sasuke if he was listed last in the book. Of course he's strong, he's the leader of that Leaf village. Killing him is out of the question right now. This kid though… They want him alive… How do I go about that?"_ She pondered to herself. She looked up at Jiroshi who looked at her with a confused look, and then her glance fell back to the floor.

" _Okay… I'll plan my attack when there's some major event going on. Swoop in, grab the kid, easy. Turn his ass in and start training. It'll be an easy twelve million, and then I can start figuring how to kill that Uchiha. Hell maybe I'll kill the Hokage as well. First that means I'll have to travel to the Leaf first, see when anything is going on. I should lea—"_

The woman was interuppted from her thoughts by Jiroshi, who had slapped the back of her neck. "Sorry, got bored." He chuckled. Meisiekai was not pleased. She jumped back, pulling a kunai from her pouch. Jiroshi sighed, "Not this again. You know you ca—" His sentence was broken apart as the blade flew past his face, scratching his cheek. He raised his hand and everything went black. They were in the dark room that brought them here. Without a word or smile, Jiroshi dashed forward towards her.

"He's fast!" Meisiekai commented as she unsheathed her sword. Within a second he was upon her, striking down with a elbow clean across her head. Meisiekai reeled back from the blow as she tried to regain her balance. Jiroshi charged her again, throwing blow after blow. Each one he threw connected with her body, sending Meisiekai to the ground with a sharp howl of pain. "You brought this on yourself, cutting me and such." He said as he walked over her. He put his foot on her head and smiled. "Don't worry. Not going to kill you." Meisiekai gritted her teeth at the lack of fear he had for her.

She grabbed his leg and threw him halfway across the room. "Don't fuck with me! Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu." Jiroshi stood up and caught the sight of two giant balls of flames roaring towards him. Meisiekai dashed at him from the ground which he was unaware of. As he prepared to counter her attack, a right hand smashed his jaw with enough force to break it. Meisiekai propelled herself into the air by way of his slumped body. "Spinning whirlwind." She announced, fluidly spinning in the air. She came down with a hard heel to the back of his neck. Jiroshi hit the ground head first and lay still.

Meisiekai wasn't done. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tossed him upwards. For a woman not under the tultilage of Sakura or Tsunade, she was amazingly strong. Gracefully forming the necessary hand seals she exclaimed, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullets!" From her mouth torrents of flaming bullets about as long as her arm shot towards him. "He's finished." She smirked. Once she said that, her jutsu just flat out disappeared out of the air. "What!?" Meisiekai shouted frantically. "What the hell did you do!?"

She felt two taps on each arm, both went numb. "But you were just up there…" Meisiekai said angrily as she fell to her knees. Jiroshi chuckled, walking around to her front. He leaned down at her laughed in her face, greatly pissing Meisiekai off. "I'm afraid you're not up to my skill set, nothing can challenge my jutsu. Not even those two guys in the back of that book." Meisiekai scoffed, "Well than why don't you go and kill them?" She asked, full of doubt. Jiroshi pointed at her, "Nahh. You'll do that for me. In case you haven't realized I don't have a master. I'm the guy who you've been searching for the entire time." He said, eyes gleaming with mischief in them.

"So I've been played huh? How did you know I was even searching for you, and how do you know I'll kill those two for you. I'm not even strong enough you ass." She spat, struggling to regain feeling and control of her arms.

"Why else do bounty hunters like yourself come to this land, looking for me of course. And of course you will because you work for me now, unless you want to die. Now to answer your third question Miss Curiosity, you'll have to get strong enough to take them out. That's simple enough."

Meisiekai squinted her eyes, "Just what is your goal?" She said suspiciously. Jiroshi shrugged. "I'm just a guy who wants to cause chaos and wreck but has grown too lazy to do so myself, not come on let's get you some tea." He grinned. "I swear I'll kill you as well one day." Meisiekai muttered as she was lifted onto his shoulders. "I'm sure you will." Jiroshi said in a sing-song and they both disappeared from the room in a flash of light.

* * *

"Give me that back you dweeb!" Sarada cried, chasing after the blonde boy who wore a large grin on his face. In his hand was the girl's glasses. Mitsuki stifled a laugh, which earned him a sharp glare from the Uchiha heiress. "You'll never get these back, I'm goin—" Bolt was cut off as he met face first with the stomach of an older man. The glasses went flying into the air, and the whole scene seemed to play in slow motion for Sarada and Mitsuki.

When the eyewear finally hit the ground, the lenses completely shattered all over the ground. "Ouch man. Here Sarada you can have your glasses back, my head hurt." Bolt said wearily as he turned around, rubbing his eyes and holding out his empty other hand.

"My head hurts." Mitsuki corrected, "And boy is it about to. Sorry Bolt." Bolt raised an eyebrow, before looking to Sarada who was emanating anger. "Uhh Sarada…?" He just so happened to glance down, and caught sight of the broken glasses. "Ohh boy…" Bolt giggled nervously, before cutting his losses and jetting off.

"BOLT UZUMAKI!" Sarada shouted, earning a gulp from her blue haired teammate. She stormed off after Bolt, who was running for his life. First his sister, now Sarada. Why did he always break the belonging of his female companions?

He ran behind a tree and hid himself from sight. Quickly he created a shadow clone. "Stay here!' He told the clone which nodded and took his place behind the tree. Bolt chuckled and scurried off, heading home. Of course he'd have to tell his mom about the incident so Hinata could replace the way glasses. He'd take a scolding from his mother over being pounded by Sarada any day.

Meanwhile the clone whistled a low tune as it stood behind the tree patiently. "Found you!" Sarada's voice roared and she sent an all mighty jab at the clone's stomach. Bolt himself might have choked from the force of the impact, the clone on the other hand just vanished in a poof of smoke. "What! Bastard!" She shouted, looking around for him.

Off in the distance, Bolt received the memories of that clone, which were only a brief glance at Sarada's raging face before she attacked his clone. "That is gold!" He laughed at the image as he made his way home. Unknown to him, in a few weeks his life would take a dramatic turn.

* * *

 **Well Chapter 3 is in the books. I already had it done yesterday, don't know why I wanted so late to upload it though. Anyways in today's chapter we met Jiroshi, who's going to be a recurrent character. I'll explain his Jutsu and how it works upon his next appearance. I have a lot of cool plans for him, can't wait to unveil them.**

 **Anyways I'm keeping it short this time, expect chapter 4 Friday or Saturday. Thanks to all the wonderful people who followed, favorited, or reviewed! I'll try not to let you all down and I'm looking forward to many more 3. So, until next time!**

 **~24tee**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Land of Fire**

Meisiekai wiped the sweat from her brow. She had been unceremoniously dumped into the edges of the Fire Country by her now employer, Jiroshi. She figured that it wasn't for her to try an attack on the Hokage, both she and Jiroshi knew the outcome of that; The imprisonment of Meisiekai. The Hokage wasn't as cruel as his dark haired friend, to say the least. Instead she was told to make her way to the Land of Tea, to carry out a few errands for the man. She was also told she could meet someone who could be of great assistance to her cause. Of course, being a loner, finding said person was the least of her priorities.

Being wanted, she knew to keep a low profile through this land. With the Leaf's Anbu lurking in the shadows to try and catch any unsuspecting criminal Meisiekai was forced to lurk around as well. At least until the moon lit the sky, she was talented enough to walk a treeless trail at night and not be seen.

But as of now, with the noon sun overhead she had to be careful to not draw any unwanted attention. Which is why she wore a pale orange fox mask, the paint beginning to peel at the ends. Indication that she had just found it lying around somewhere. She found herself walking into a small marketplace. She wrinkled her nose at the disastrous aroma the place had, the smell of fresh blood thickly coated the air. As she looked onwards she found it coming from a butcher's shop. Mixed in with that horrible stench was the foul smell of farm animals, which she saw running amok. Chickens chasing behind pigs like something you'd see in a children's show.

"Hey! How are you!?" She felt a thick hand firmly pat her across the back, sending her into combat mode. Meisiekai quickly whipped around, expertly drawing a kunai blade from her pocket and holding it to his neck. The burly man immediately put both hands up letting the axe that was in his dominant hand fall to the ground. "Wha-! I wasn't looking for trou-"

He stopped himself as he saw Meisiekai retract her hand, slowly lowering her kunai blade back into its pouch. She took a good look at him, forming a conclusion about his status here. "I'm guessing you're the butcher, or the lumberjack huh?" He nodded, slowly picking up his axe so Meisiekai wouldn't think much of the action.

The man cleared his throat, leaning the hold of his axe against his broad shoulder. "What brings a young lady like you to these parts, eh?" He asked Meisiekai, rubbing the gray hairs that coated his chin. "Merely passing through here, nothing more." She replied with a hint of edge to her tone. Her mask began to slip down a bit, but she managed to catch it and tighten it while the lumberjack was looking off into the distance. A few silent moments passed by before she looked up to realize the lumberjack was no longer there.

The hairs rose on her neck as she dropped to the ground. Overhead she saw the blade of the axe coming down on her. Swiftly rolling out of the way and onto her feet she drew a kunai from her pouch and prepared to combat her attacker, whom she assumed was the man she had just spoken too. Her attacker let out a mighty shout, only it wasn't the deep booming voice she was expecting. Instead it was a high pitched shriek from that of a woman. Meisiekai looked up to see a crimson haired woman rushing her with axe in hand. "Who the fu-" She was interrupted by a blow to the leg which gashed a part of her calf.

Mei hissed in pain and retreated back, throwing the kunai with precise aim. It struck its target as it dug itself in her opposition's hand, forcing the axe out of her possession and onto the ground. As the woman howled in pain trying to yank the weapon from her arm, Meisiekai gracefully weaved a few hand seals. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Ju-"

"WAIT!"

Meisiekai was cut off as the lumberjack she encountered earlier came rushing out from a clearing. He dashed in front of the woman and held both arms out as a shield. "I don't know what the meaning of all this is, but I assure you she meant no harm!" He shouted, trying to stop Meisiekai from turning the woman into a crisp.

"Meant me no harm huh? She may have not meant it, but she damn sure caused it." Meisiekai motioned to the large cut across her leg that was currently oozing blood. "Hell yeah I meant it! Papa this lady is a criminal, and I bet she's worth every piece of ryo her warrant papers state. Look at the conditions we're living in. Do you know what that could do for us if we turn her in!" She exclaimed.

"Excuse me." The lumberjack cleared his throat to silence the woman. "This is my over eager daughter, Zanpaku. I never formally introduced myself either, I am Paku." His extended his burly hand out, but Meisiekai shook her head to decline. She pushed the mask up her head further, wondering how the lady noticed her true identity whilst she was in disguise. "My name is Jakuzure, fro-"

"Ohh cut the crap will ya! Papa, this lady's true name is Meisiekai Redyui, wanted criminal A rank." Zanpaku interjected. She grabbed a crumbled wanted paper and shoved it into Paku's face. "Just make her take off the mask, and you'll see!"

"There's no need for that." Meisiekai chuckled. She was really intrigued by how that woman was able to uncover her true identity. Meisiekai removed the mask, slipping it into her bag should she need it again.

"See there!" Zanpaku practically bounced around, hysterically pointing at Meisiekai. Paku let out a soft 'hmph'. He had to admit, he was fooled by a simple fox mask. "Okay she's a criminal Zan, but that doesn't mean there's anything we can do about it. Obviously she's stronger than us, she's a ninja." He said stubbornly.

"Ughhh! Didn't you see, I had her until you jumped in!" Zanpaku exclaimed, earning a audible chuckle from Meisiekai.

"No, what I saw when I stepped in, was you about to be fried by ninjutsu." Meisiekai sneered at Paku's sentence. Perhaps it was true, well actually it was most definitely true. Zanpaku mumbled something under her breath, and looked up to catch Meisiekai watching her. She glared the silver haired woman down, earning a chuckle in response from Mei.

"Well I suppose there isn't anyone else around here right? If someone attacks me out of the blue again, I don't think I'll be as merciful as I was last time." The silver haired bounty hunter mused innocently.

"Nonsense." Paku began to walk towards a small wooden shack, motioning for the two women to follow. "I can assure you we're the only two here. The rest, well they all fled on us." Zanpaku grunted, turning to walk the other way. She didn't want anything to do with Meisiekai, that was apparent enough.

Paku opened the shack door, sending it slamming into the wall from the sheer amount of force he had to use just to get it open. It send dust flying into every direction, causing a few coughs from the old man.

"They fled huh? What caused that, was it something you two did?" The ever nosy Meisiekai inquired. Though from behind she couldn't see it, Paku's face was overcome with grim features. The wrinkles on his face combining with the dark lighting of the shack to give him a more dramatic look. "No, their absence do not stem from any efforts of ours." He spoke.

Paku sighed deeply and continued, "Just a short while ago, maybe three or four weeks at the most, this little place was home to about twenty or so people. So along came this stranger one day, a wanted criminal from the Land of Iron. We all knew he was wanted, yet we took him in anyways. A decision I truly regret. It turns out, he was wanted not because of any crimes, but because he was highly contagious."

"Contagious?" Meisiekai interjected, "With what? I don't know of many contagious diseases around these parts."

"I didn't either, but this illness, there was nothing like it. One day, from this very shack as this was the one he stayed in." Paku stopped himself to watch the ever cautious Meisiekai quickly step outside the shack. "Relax, doctors from the Hidden Leaf have already sprayed every inch of this here marketplace down. As I was saying, one night we were all awoke with a scream. I was the first one here, the young man, why he was bleeding. From his nose, his mouth, and even his eyes. It was like something straight out of the labs of Orochimaru."

Paku traced his hands along the wall, Meisiekai following the gesture he was making. "He was a nicely tanned man when he first arrived, but that night he was as pale as paper. As skinny as a stick, bleeding from everywhere on his face except the ear. I remember the look on his face, wide with fear. That same night he died right in front of us all."

"Hmm… sounds more like a cursed seal more than a sickness. Did he happen to have any markings on his body?" Meisiekai rubbed her chin in thought, awaiting an answer.

"No, his top was off and I got a good look at him after he died. No marks anywhere. Continuing on though, a few days later… it happened again. This time it was a child, about eleven years of age. Only instead of dying on the spot like the man, the kid lashed out. He bit about three people before we eventually had to put him down. Those three people, dead within the next two days. With a great determination, the remaining survivors left without haste. I still wonder if any of them are dead by now. To think, this thing could be spreading across the lands as we speak."

"I wouldn't doubt it. When the kid attacked those other people, there's a ninety percent chance that the blood from that attack splashed on at least two other people. Like idiots they probably didn't think much of it and rubbed off, which in turn smeared some into their skin. Those same people probably traveled together in a group with the others when they departed, so its a certainty they are no longer with us." Meisiekai gave him a summary of what she had put together from the story she was just told.

Paku silently nodded, a gravely look passing over his face. "I… suppose you're right…" He looked up, a soft smile gracing his features. "No use in remorsing over that now, if you're right I should be praising the fact I didn't leave with them. No me and my daughter decided we'd stay behind, keep the place intact in case they would return one day."

"Pa! We've got company!" Zanpaku came rushing in, shouting the news of an arrival. "Coming." Paku followed his daughter out urgently. Meisiekai equipped her mask, and tailed behind them. Their company was an Anbu Black Op, of the leaf judging from his mask.

" _Why is an Anbu here, one of the Leaf at that? Did the girl summon him… No, she doesn't have use of jutsu, and no ways of communication…. Unless…"_ Meisiekai cut her eyes at Zanpaku from beneath the slits in her mask, and then back at the Anbu troop. They usually never leave the Leaf alone from what she'd observed, so there was bound to be one or two more nearby. She figured she could handle all three if she approached it right, definitely wasn't in her best interest to take more than two head on.

"What seems to be the problem here? Care to buy anything?" Paku asked the Anbu, it was clear he was stalling. The young man shook his head, brushing his brown hair back behind his mask. "No sir." He reached into his pocket and came out with a crumbled piece of paper. Straightening it out to the best of his ability, he continued, "Have you seen this woman any where around this area? We've got word from the Cloud that she's incredibly dangerous."

The person on the picture was none other than Meisiekai. Paku observed it carefully. He had to admit, he did not think she was actually as bad a person as his daughter would have him believe. Still he knew even if he were to reveal her whereabouts, she wouldn't go peacefully. It'd end up in a conflict and most of his marketplace would be destroyed.

"I can't say that I have." Paku answered, and the Anbu Op nodded softly. "That's too bad." He said, tilting his mask upwards on his face. "I'd had hoped you were an honest man."

"An honest man…" Paku trailed off.

A shadowy figure moved behind Meisiekai, roughly shoving her directly into Paku. "Pa!" Zanpaku exclaimed as her father hit the ground hard. "I'll take this harborer in, you two deal with the criminal. She's wanted dead, or alive."

"Keep your hands away from my Pa!" Zanpaku slid in between Paku and the Anbu troop leader, gripping the hilt of her axe intensely.

Meisiekai got up from the ground to see two figures standing over her. One wore a hawk mask, and appeared to be a bald headed fellow. The other was equipped with a bear mask, long black hair falling over the mask onto his shoulders.

She wasted little time in going on the offensive, whipping a kunai blade out from her pouch. The two men leapt back, forming hand signs while they were airborne. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Both shouted, and out came a volley of enormous fireballs. Both were clearly skilled in their jutsu, judging from the sheer number and size of the attack. Meisiekai rose to her feet quickly, zipping between the attacks as they hit the ground.

Both men dropped to the ground, one going left and the other right as they began to circle her like ravenous sharks. "Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!" Both men exclaimed, and in a matter of seconds the whole area was lit in a great display of fire.

Zanpaku looked back at the scene, she was sure Meisiekai did not survive an attack of that magnitude. That lessened her confidence for her impending showdown with the brown haired man, but not enough for her to reconsider. She turned back around and rushed him, swinging her weapon with great speed and power.

The Anbu took note of it as he swiftly dodged each strike, "That's a heavy weapon. You must be quite strong to swing it around as if it's a simple stick." He commended her on her physical strength. Zanpaku gritted her teeth and went for an upwards slash. It was an all or nothing attack that required all of her strength, so if it didn't connect she was finished.

It didn't connect.

The brown haired Anbu man sidestepped, much to Zanpaku's disbelief, and snatched the axe right out of her hand in the process. He whipped it around in a blur and brought the hilt of it across her head hard, all while managing to not cut himself. The force of the blow she had received was more than enough to knock her out.

"Lightning Release: Chakra Stream." Meisiekai said as she emerged from the smoke, spitting out a thick current of lightning from her mouth. The stream arched out towards the fellow in the bear mask, who could not evade it. As it hit him, he went up in a cloud of smoke and a burnt log took his place. Meisiekai grunted internally and whipped around so that the lightning could chase after the man with the hawk mask.

He as well swiftly evaded it, but not the second time. As he sidestepped it, the lightning stream curled around behind him and wrapped around his waist.

"What is this?" Hawk mask grunted, struggling to break free from his restraints. A few feet away his partner looked on, trying to formulate a plan to rescue his companion. He turned his head, looking back at their squad leader, who strangely watched on instead of jumping in to help.

The stream of lightning flowing from Meisiekai's mouth ended abruptly, but it ending did not free the man whom she had restrained. Bear mask ditched his losses and ran in after Meisiekai, throwing multiple shuriken at her.

The woman swiftly grabbed her katana from its hold, deflecting his ninja tools in quick fashion. She refocused her sight on him, but he was gone.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" The man spat from above. Meisiekai looked up to see a hail of small fireballs closing in on her. She jumped back, one hitting the ground where she was just a mere second ago. Something caught her eye though.

"Shuriken…?" She trailed off. Another fireball scraped her arm as she was taking evasive maneuvers. She could confirm her theory from the long cut down her arm as it brushed her, there were indeed shuriken hidden in the fire technique.

Once she broke away from the attack, she weaved together hand signs and said, "Release!"

A few feet away from her position, the guy in the hawk mask let out a pained scream. The lightning roped around him was flaring intensely, the heat burning into his skin.

"What the hell…" Their leader muttered, wide eyed at what was happening to his partner. "Damn… We have to retreat fast." He said.

"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" Meisiekai looked up to see three huge fireballs staring her down. She leapt into the air, just barely avoiding the last one. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu." She said once she located her attacker.

The bear masked Anbu op was no weakling however. "Earth Style: Great Mud Wall." He pressed his hands onto the ground, and in front of him arose a tall thick muddy wall. Meisiekai's jutsu collided with the wall and slowly faded away, not being able to break through.

The young woman gained her footing on a tree branch, and used it to catapult herself towards the man. "Piercing Lightning Strike." Meisiekai extended two fingers and they began to cackle with lightning. Once in range, she jabbed them fiercely into the mud wall.

"No way…" Bear mask gritted his teeth as his wall exploded into chunks. Meisiekai grinned once she saw the fear in his body expression. Though his face was hidden, he was shaking visibly and bracing for impact.

The impact came.

Meisiekai jammed her fingers against his forehead, releasing a devastating current of lightning that blew him nearly thirty feet back.

She pronounced him dead upon impact, and turned her attention to the remaining Anbu. There were none.

The leader was gone, and there wasn't any remains of hawk mask. She assumed they'd found a way to cancel her jutsu, and rescued the man before he was turned into a charcoal tinted carcass.

She looked over to see Paku, who was slowly crawling up from the ground. She also saw Zanpaku, still out cold.

Paku looked at her, and then motioned for her to come closer. Meisiekai obliged, she felt a strange urge to hear the man out when it would be best to leave before more Anbu arrived.

"Hey you… You don't suppose they'll be sending more of those guys right?" He asked, coughing softly. He was old, so she figured that fall to the ground did more damage to him then it would to normally anyone. Not to mention he didn't seem like he was a ninja in his prime.

"Yeah, most likely he'll run back and ask for more help." Meisiekai replied. She winced in pain as the injury to her calf decided to rear its head again.

"Well then you have to leave, fast. But not alone, I beg you… take my daughter with you. No doubt when they come back I'll be taken in and labeled as a conspirator, I don't want her to share the same fate." Paku begged her, struggling to get to his feet.

Meisiekai offered a hand but was politely declined. "Listen I have to leave as fast as possible, I'm already carrying an injury. I don't think I can afford any dead weight. She doesn't look like she'll come to for quite a while." She saw a glint of depression in his eyes, and his head droop down softly.

"I see…"

Meisiekai looked down at Zanpaku for a moment. Shaking her head, she dipped down and scooped her up, hanging her over her shoulder. With the other hand she grabbed the woman's axe, before looking back to Paku.

"I'll take her and leave her somewhere safe, maybe in a village outside the Land of Fire." She said.

Paku smiled graciously. "Thank you, I could not ask for more."

Meisiekai nodded, and turned around. "You're welcome." She said, and began her walk.

Paku did the same, turning and walking back to his barren shack.

Over off in the distance, the Anbu man whom Meisiekai presumed she had killed gasped for air. His mask lay besides him, cracked in half from the impact. He had seen Meisiekai pick up Zanpaku and walk off, as well as seeing Paku walk off. He grunted as he made his way to his feet. "Don't think this is the end, criminal scum." He said with a pained expression as he began to make his way towards Paku's shack.

 **Hey guys…. Long time no see am I right? There's a long series of events that took place after the last chapter, starting with me getting very sick. I think I was in the hospital for a week or two. Once I got out, I was sort of depressed and had writers block forever.**

 **I never forgot about my little story, just never got around to it as I started to become increasingly busy. I am back 100% full time now though.**

 **Now, as for the story. You can see towards the end, Meisiekai has a bit of a soft spot. This will be explored upon further as the plot progresses. Next chapter won't feature any Meisiekai. Instead it'll be focused on Bolt. So, until next time, bye!**

 **(Hopefully next time won't be a couple of months lol.)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Hidden in the Snow

\--

"LET GO OF ME NOW!!! WHERE'S MY FATHER!!"

"Dead, or captured most likely." The answer Zanpaku received courtesy of Meisiekai was not one she expected, nor one she would choose to believe. She forced herself free of Meisiekai's hold, falling onto her knees and pounding the ground angrily. Meisiekai sat idly and watched.

"There's no way! Pa, it can't be. It can't be true…." Zanpaku beat the ground mercilessly, tears welling up in her eyes. She sprung up to her feet and mashed her hand into the face of Meisiekai. "This is all your fault! I swear I'm going to beat the hell out of you!" Meisiekai found herself hard pressed to remove the woman's grip, which was beginning to make its way down to her neck. In a last ditch effort she clasped her hands together and let out a chakra discharge which blew the attacking woman back.

Still, Zanpaku persisted. With a mighty roar she hurled herself at Meisiekai, throwing sloppy but strong hits that were so strong even blocking them begin to wear down Meisiekai. "You act as though its my fault, this is what he wanted." She said as she caught Zanpaku's fist, following through with a swift uppercut. The hit rendered Zanpaku motionless, and the silver haired kunoichi followed through with quick punches and kicks one after another until she knocked Zanpaku to the floor. She tossed her axe over to her which neatly dug itself into ground and turned to leave.

"I promised to leave you somewhere away from danger and this should suffice." Meisiekai began to walk. Zanpaku gripped the handle of her axe and pulled it from the ground. She jumped to her feet and hastily initiated a mad dash towards Meisiekai, cocking her arm back and throwing out a powerful forward slash with her weapon. Meisiekai whipped around and grabbed her katana in time to parry it however the force was more than enough to shatter her beloved blade to pieces. Zanpaku recoiled back onto her bottom whilst Meisiekai started emptily at the broken shards of metal littering the ground around her feet. The hilt slipped from her hands onto the ground as well, and she could do nothing but growl angrily.

"You bitch. I'll tear you apart with my bear hands." As she made a motion for the younger woman an image of Paku flashed her brain, causing her to stop. No matter what she had made a promise of his daughter's safety, and she couldn't stand to break her word.

"Go ahead do it. My father's dead so I'm dead too. I lost this battle so take my life, that's what you ninja do right." Zanpaku snarled as she stood to her feet. She realized she couldn't combat the woman before her at all, nothing her axe could do could compare to ninjutsu. She dropped her prized weapon to the ground, seemingly accepting her fate. "Carry my axe with you or bury it along side me, consider it the spoils of the kill." Her eyes lowered to her cast aside weapon, a pitiful look upon her face as she prepared for the worst. Meisiekai took a look at her surroundings, lush forest as far as the eye could see and she was sure they were alone. She could easily kill Zanpaku right now and go along her way.

She approached her, delivering a swift gut punch that leveled Zanpaku to her knees, then grabbing by the bundles of her hair and lifting her up. "I'm not going to kill you, but you will repay the death of my valued katana with your services." She shoved the young woman away, who was both angry and surprised whilst clenching her stomach.

"Services!? You actually think I'm going to travel around as a criminal alongside you." She shouted.

"You and your father are already criminals and likely he's not dead but captured. At least one Anbu survived. For your troubles though if he is captured when I invade the leaf I'll make sure to also free him." Meisiekai's words seemed to calm the girl's temper, albeit slightly. She shuffled around in her pocket and tossed Zanpaku a spare bingo book, and then reached into her bag to supply them both with masks.

"Invade the Leaf? The Hidden Leaf, are you out of your mind we'll be slaughtered! Who's crazy enough to do that." Zanpaku argued back, eyeing the mask and book that now resided on the ground besides her before carefully picking them up for examining.

"Me that's who. Not now though, I'm nowhere near strong enough nor do I have enough help. However I say in a few months time I should be all set, that gives me enough time to fully prepare myself. You as well, that Anbu made real short work of you and there's going to be plenty more. I don't expect you to learn ninjutsu but you should at least work on your current talents, namely that strength. Zanpaku's cheeks lit with a light tinge of red at the woman's comments on her, before her features settled into a defeated look.

"Fine, I'll be apart of this little suicide mission. It's the only hope I have to save Pa apparently. That's the only reason I don't care for any of this criminal shit!"

Meisiekai let a smirk crawl across her face. Perfect. With the skillet Zanpaku could bring if she could harness her strengths she'd be invaluable, a worthy tradeoff for a mere katana indeed. She equipped her mask and once Zanpaku saw this she did the same. The Land of Fire was definitely to risky to stay in as of now. Anbu-men were surely performing sweeps of the area now due to recent events, and she didn't want any part of them. She drew a map from her bag, charting out a potential course of march with her finger. Currently they were near the Black River, so she figured the Stone Country would be a good target. In the path of that were the Grass and Rain countries.

She hadn't heard much about the former, other than it being home to a fairly large and rich village allied with Konoha. That alliance could be the one thing that would bring her trouble but she'd risk it. After all one of her favorite weapon traders lived in the Stone Country, and she just had to get her hand on another sword. She stepped forward to walk, and once she was a few paces ahead Zanpaku got the memo and followed quickly.

"Hmph, things are about to get interesting." The silver haired bounty hunter mused inwardly.

\--

"The Land of Frost…" Sasuke muttered to himself as he looked over the desolate cold landscape he was navigating. The crime here was rampant from what he heard, and not being too far away from the Leaf it was a very real threat. That's where he came in. Taking a break from his dimension hopping to focus on a more homebound threat was something he desperately needed, a tune-up of sorts. As he continued in his path he began to slow down at the mercy of the howling wind.

It was cold, below zero.

Freezing winds rattled his bones through the thick skinned coat he had applied to his wardrobe, and the warmth of his pockets plus the gloves he wore was barely stalling the freezing of his hand. He had to get out of the cold now. Scanning the area around him he could make all the shape of a few small shacks to his northwest. Given the hostile nature of the land he was in he was halfway sure it could be home to a hostile force. If it came to blows Sasuke would simply just have to clear them out and take up their residence, because the one enemy he could not defeat was this cold.

He pressed his way forward through the storm, until he approached a gate of sorts. Two men vigorously sprang forward thrusting their spears just an inch away from his face. Sasuke didn't flinch.

"Who are you, what do you want!? We don't take kindly to any criminal sc-"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," He cut the guard off quick, "Of the Hidden Leaf or Konoha, whichever you'd prefer. I am on official business investigating the criminal mishaps in this land and need a place to reside for the night."

They lowered their spears and backed away slowly. There wasn't a man on this planet who didn't know the name Sasuke Uchiha, or any foolish enough to challenge his might so they thought. The two men stepped out of his path to let him enter, and he did. The village itself was small and barren, a few wooden shacks scattered about with two or three houses at the far end, likely the village chiefs. As he walked the locals seemed to go about daily life, not acknowledging him in the slightest. It was only until he approached a small, frail woman walking in his direction that he was spoken too.

"That face…" she spoke, a woman of about her thirties with light brown hair and green eyes. "It's exactly like the one in the posters, you must be Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke nodded in response to her question, and the woman quickly turned on her heel. "Come on let's get you inside. Follow me."

They made their way to the furthermost house, where inside was no one else but a small little girl. "I just finished brewing tea not too long ago, and there's a small pantry you can help yourself too. I'm Riole, wife of the current village chief here."

"Where's the chief?" Sasuke asked the question and watched as Riole's face saddened, so he waved off any answer. However Riole returned with a warm smile and took a deep sigh, before speaking. "Not too long ago he accompanied the commander of our small forces on a mission, and hasn't returned since. None of them have it's been a week already. They were supposed to go to the Hidden Frost, along with some woman who was to help, to steal a bunch of weapons back from them if I recall. That place is one of the most dangerous places in all the lands though, so it's safe to assume they were all killed."

"I see." Sasuke responded, he didn't imagine such a criminal hellhole of that caliber being formed here. "What else can you share with me? Geographical information, their operations, anything specific in particular that would be of help?" Riole rubbed her chin in thought, eyes dancing about the room as she was thinking.

"Well, as for where it's exactly located, about three miles east of here. Their goals I know in great detail due to events a while back. The village itself seems to be split into three factions, and while they all share the same goal they do go about it different ways and clash over it, sometimes yielding deadly results."

"And what's the ultimate goal." Sasuke leaned in, absorbing as much information as he could.

"They want to overthrow the peace of the land and start a new war filled area once again. Criminals hate peace times as there's no real pressing event between nations to mask their trafficking and what not. With this recent peace Nations have been really stomping out the crime in the lands, exactly the reason you seem to be out here in the cold. It seems like a small problem for the might of the Kage which is why they've just been ignoring it, but it could grow to be real troublesome for the world." Riole chose her words carefully in order to give Sasuke every bit of info he could need. She turned to see her little girl innocently crawling around and smiled. Her smile soon faded. "War…? The lust our kind has for it is beyond me. War ruined our beautiful land and turned it into a cold harsh desolate land filled with lowlifes. It took many to an early grave and drove apart families."

"There will be no more war, don't you worry. I've decided tomorrow morning I'm going to travel there and dispatch of any criminals in the area. I'll put a swift end to those plans." Riole took in Sasuke's words and a soft sigh escaped her lips. She shook her head causing a look of slight confusion to show on Sasuke's face.

"I get it, you're strong and all. But when I say a rogue ninja stronghold I mean. Criminals and such from across the world congregate here. All different techniques and stuff. During peace times shinobi tend to get bored and come up with all sorts of new ninjutsu. Even you yourself have probably perfected a new technique or two. There's no way even you can stand against thousand strong, you'll tire out. At least return to your village and get help."

"Not likely. There's not any time for that. I need to act now while I have the chance. Thank you for your concern." As Sasuke begin to walk to the door, Riole grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to hide his annoyance with her actions.

"I guess I have no choice. You can't win by yourself so I'll help too." Sasuke's eyes went wide as Riole clasped her hands together. "Chakra Release!" Riole's body sprung upwards and extended until she was at least six feet tall. Her frail frame buffed up into a muscular fit build, and her rather aged face smoothed into a younger complexion. Lastly her eyes were no longer green, but a reflective silver color.

Sasuke took a step back, tugging at the hilt of his sword as both of his eyes activated. Riole took notice and flailed her hands innocently. "No need to draw partner, I'm not doing this to fight you or anything. If you are so intent on going then I'll be your guide. I may not be as skilled as you but I know the route and my sensory experience is top notch."

Sasuke looked on, de-engaging his visual jutsu. He had a hard time trusting strangers who wanted to add themselves to his travels, especially after the incident with Chino and the exploding humans a while back. However Riole didn't seem like the type to be holding any grudges against him. "I can't promise you'll return without any injuries."

Riole chuckled as she made her way over to her pantry, grabbing a loaf of bread to devour. "Usually they'll say i can't promise you'll return at all, so that's a step up in safety I suppose. Trust me I'll be fine. If my chief is somehow still alive which I doubt, I wish to be the one to bring him home."

She pointed over to a room which held nothing but a bed in it. "As for tonight, you can take that bedroom instead of lounging in one of those old shacks. Chakra Hold!' Forming a seal her body began to shrink down into the state she introduced herself in. Once the process was finished she picked up the young girl and walked into the another room. "Goodnight." Was her final words before the door shut.

Sasuke's eyes lingered on the door for another second, before he went to grab his journal from his pouch and make his way to the bed. Pulling out a pen he laid upon the mattress and began to write.

Tomorrow, he would continue to atone for his sins. He would be the one to prevent war. Never again would the shinobi world see the pain and death of war, he wouldn't allow it.

\--

"This cool wind is such a nice change from the Land of Fire. I can feel the breeze crawling underneath this hot ass mask, truly thankful for this piece of shit by the way." It greatly amused Meisiekai how Zanpaku could start a sentence off all calm and by the end of it be practically shouting.

"You'll be fine, you should be more worried about the threat of snakes in this tall grass." The two were currently midway through their journey into the Land of Grass, careful not to draw any attention from the shinobi of the area. The country was true to its name, tall grasses and sparsely planted trees about. It meant there was few places for cover but long lines of sight in case they came to blows with someone. In this scenario Meisiekai could cover Zanpaku easily and allow her to get in close, but at the same time her partner could also be picked off easily from afar.

Up ahead they were approaching what appeared to be an old castle, vines climbing its walls and parts of it eroding ever so slowly. She extended an arm motioning for Zanpaku to halt as she did the same. "You see that?"

Zanpaku squinted as hard as she could to get the best view possible through her mask. "I can't see it." She angrily removed the porcelain mask from around her face to get a better look. There she saw it, about five armed men standing atop the castle highgrounds. More importantly, they were all staring directly at her and Meisiekai. Suddenly she was pulled to the ground, by Meisiekai.

"Put that thing on and stay low. The grass will cover us. They know we're here and I don't know what they are planning, but I don't wanna find out." Meisiekai gritted her teeth. No way they could have been tracked, but she could tell these men hadn't just spotted her. She peeked up from her position, surprised to find them all gone.

A yell from behind her rang through the sky and she quickly turned. Zanpaku was gone. She reached for her katana, and then remembered she no longer had one. Fuck.

They were compromised, Zanpaku taken, and she was outnumbered without a weapon by skilled shinobi. Things were progressing rapidly and she knew she had to act quick.

But what would she do?

\--

 **Ayeeeee! I couldn't see it in my heart not to continue this story, so after a long hiatus here's a new chapter. Meisiekai and Zanpaku are going to get into all sorts of trouble over the next few chapters while Sasuke continues to try and purge the outside world of threats to the peace of the land. So stay tuned!** **Until next time, ciao~**


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